Bacterial Selection from Shrimp Ponds for Degradation of Organic Matters

Accumulation of ammonia, nitrite and hydrogen sulfide in a shrimp pond is generally caused by incomplete degradation of residual organic matters from overfeeding and from organic wastes released by shrimps. The phenomenon affects shrimp growth and survival rate. The objectives of this investigation were to screen for a bacterial strain able to digest organic residues and to evaluate the changes of residues by bacterial activities under natural conditions. The results from this work showed that the isolated strain, Bacillus cereus S1, had the highest protease activity (57.1 U/ml) with the presence of glucoamylase and lipase activities (4.5 and 0.13 U/ml, respectively). Under an aseptic condition in 1-L flasks containing seawater with 0.1% shrimp feed, B. cereus S1 degraded organic matters and significantly reduced chemical oxygen demand (COD) (70.8%). An amount of ammonia-nitrogen was increased during the first 5 days of incubation due to the degradation of organic compounds in shrimp feed. However, it declined afterward with nitrate-nitrogen increase and unchanged nitrite nitrogen content. Under natural conditions in 10-L glass jars containing seawater with 0.05% shrimp feed and 0.05% sediment, B. cereus S1 and a commercial bacterial product (Inpicin-G) could reduce COD (4.5% and 15.8%, respectively) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (35.1 and 11.4%, respectively). However, similar changes of ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen and nitrite-nitrogen contents in water samples were observed. The results indicate that this selected bacterium could reduce organic compound accumulations on a laboratory scale. In addition, the strain did not produce any enterotoxins compared to a toxin standard. Therefore, the bacterium, Bacillus cereus S1, could be applied to decrease organic matters accumulated in shrimp pond without any harm to shrimps or consumers

Keratinase production and keratin degradation by a mutant strain of Bacillus subtilis *

A new feather-degrading bacterium was isolated from a local feather waste site and identified as Bacillus subtilis based on morphological, physiochemical, and phylogenetic characteristics. Screening for mutants with elevated keratinolytic activity using N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis resulted in a mutant strain KD-N2 producing keratinolytic activity about 2.5 times that of the wild-type strain. The mutant strain produced inducible keratinase in different substrates of feathers, hair, wool and silk under submerged cultivation. Scanning electron microscopy studies showed the degradation of feathers, hair and silk by the keratinase. The optimal conditions for keratinase production include initial pH of 7.5, inoculum size of 2% (v/v), age of inoculum of 16 h, and cultivation at 23 °C. The maximum keratinolytic activity of KD-N2 was achieved after 30 h. Essential amino acids like threonine, valine, methionine as well as ammonia were produced when feathers were used as substrates. Strain KD-N2, therefore, shows great promise of finding potential applications in keratin hydrolysis and keratinase production